SW-395: Self-Care for Helping Professionals

This course examines self-care as an ethical and professional responsibility within social work and related helping professions. Students explore the impact of stress, burnout, compassion fatigue, and secondary traumatic stress on professional functioning and personal well-being. Emphasis is placed on evidence-informed self-care strategies, boundary setting, reflective practice, and the development of individualized self-care plans. The course prepares students to integrate sustainable self-care practices into their professional lives to support ethical decision-making, resilience, and long-term career effectiveness. Prerequisites: Three (3) hours in PSY, SOC, or SW and ENG 112 or WRI 118.